Puro Review: Dominion 2013

NJPW Dominion 2013
June 22nd, 2013 | Bodymaker Coliseum in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 7,240
The Bullet Club was still relatively fresh at the time of this show. Prince Devitt, the leader, had been dominating the Junior ranks (six Tag Titles, three singles Jr. Titles, two Best of the Super Juniors Tournament wins) and he was booked to face Hiroshi Tanahashi with a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Title on the line, looking to move up in the ranks. This has potential to be huge considering research tells me that Tanahashi hadn’t been pinned in outside of tournaments or title matches in about three years. The rest of the card also has potential to be pretty damn good. This would be the 5th Dominion event.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Forever Hooligans (c) vs. The Time Splitters
I know they found a fair amount of success, but man, the Forever Hooligans were such an odd pairing. I guess that’s kind of why they worked. Both teams worked each other a bunch of times, so the chemistry is present, making the match move along smoothly. Alex Shelley specifically, is on point, with everything he does looking so perfect. Alex Koslov is sporting a ridiculous mustache/sideburn combination. The Hooligans do a good job of cutting the ring in half. Tag team wrestling is all about depravation, and they made sure to build to the KUSHIDA hot tag. When he came in, it was fun, nearly resulting in a win for the Time Splitters. Both teams go in their signature stuff in a fine finishing stretch, before Rocky Romero beat KUSHIDA.

Winners and Still IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: Forever Hooligans in 13:09
Really solid work from two solid teams. They both put in the effort and it made for a good match. I saw some good tag formula before they went into the faster paced stuff that kicked it up a notch. ***½

The second match on the card, a six man tag where Bad Luck Fale, Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga beat Captain New Japan, Tomoaki Honma and Yuji Nagata, is unavailable on New Japan World for some reason, so I had to skip it.

IWGP Tag Team Championship
Tenkoji (c) vs. The Killer Elite Squad w/ Taka Michinoku vs. Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano
The Killer Elite Squad, who seem to be the reigning NWA World Tag Team Champions, start hot. They beat up everyone in sight, picking apart both teams. It’s like, they were built for Japan because neither Lance Archer nor Davey Boy Smith Jr. really impressed me much in WWE and TNA. When things spill outside, Toru Yano and Takashi Iizuka tape each guy to the guardrail, incapacitating them for a bit. The pairing of Iizuka and Yano is a fun blend of comedy and insanity. They take control, using every underhanded trick possible. From chairs to illegal chokes, they beat up the champions. Once the KES got free though, Yano and Iizuka scrambled out. They just continue to kick Tenkoji’s asses until the champions rally. They hit some trademark offense, including Kojima chops to both Yano and Iizuka after dumping KES. Yano starts hitting low blows shortly before Archer and Smith get back in and hit their finish on him. Yano has already taken out the official though. A few more false finishes come, including one on the Tenkoji Cutter, before Kojima levels Archer with a lariat to retain.

Winners and Still IWGP Tag Team Champions: Tenkoji in 11:50
Well this was better than I thought it was going to be. I don’t see many three way matches in New Japan, but when I do, they’re usually well executed like this one. Each team got to do their thing, Yano and Iizuka were underhanded, the Killer Elite Squad looked like beasts and Tenkoji got the babyface comeback. A really well worked and fun bout. My main issue was that Archer ate the pin as I think it should have been someone from the other team. ***¼

NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Rob Conway (c) w/ Bruce Tharpe vs. Manabu Nakanishi
I don’t have high hopes for this one. Early on, they play up the fact that Manabu Nakanishi has a major power advantage. He knocks down Rob Conway several times, doesn’t move on an Irish whip and kicks his ass with a variety of chops and clubs. Conway outsmarts him to gain the upper hand. His offense is pretty generic and Nakanishi isn’t really the best seller or bumper here. Nakanishi then blows my mind by doing a damn plancha out onto Conway. Nakanishi scores on a lariat and applies the torture rack but Conway gets free. Conway still eats a German, but when Nakanishi goes up top, he gets distracted by Bruce Tharpe, NWA President, at ringside. This allows Conway to hit the Ego Trip and retain.

Winner and Still NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Rob Conway in 8:32
Honestly, this was about as good as possible considering the guys involved. They kept it relatively short, which helped as the crowd was mostly into it. Outside of a few short spots, nothing about this was really that good, but it was inoffensive. **

Minoru Suzuki and Shelton X Benjamin w/ Taichi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii
While I did my reviews of the G1 24, I saw Shelton X Benjamin against both of his opponents here, but I’ve never seen Minoru Suzuki against either. Both Suzuki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and vs. Tomohiro Ishii sound like winner. Nakamura and Suzuki start off, with neither man grabbing an advantage or doing much. Ishii gets tagged and badly wants Suzuki. Like a good heel, Suzuki tags out to Benjamin, not in a cowardly way though. More like a “you’re not going to get what you want” way. Benjamin works him over but as he sends Ishii off the ropes, Ishii just nails Suzuki and goes outside to fight him. Suzuki gets back at him with an armbar over the ropes, while Benjamin gets in cheap shots on Nakamura outside. The Suzuki-Gun duo work the heat on Ishii, using their fair share of dirty tactics. Ishii just continues to go after Suzuki at every opening, even when Shelton is legal. Nakamura eventually gets the hot tag and starts beating on Suzuki. Shelton gets the tag shortly after and leaps to the top, hitting Nakamura with a superplex of sorts. Nakamura counters Paydirt into a backbreaker though. The Boma Ye is interrupted by a Suzuki sleeper. Suzuki looks for a Gotch piledriver but Ishii runs in with a lariat. Benjamin avoids the Boma Ye, wins a battle of kicks with Nakamura and gets the three with Paydirt.

Winners: Minoru Suzuki and Shelton X Benjamin in 12:36
A great tag team match that more than accomplished what it set out to. It built towards the Ishii/Suzuki feud while giving Benjamin a win over Nakamura, which would come in handy when Shinsuke got back the Intercontinental Title. Suzuki was the MVP here, doing everything masterfully. He sold, he worked Ishii’s arm, and he gave instructions to Shelton like a true stable leader should. Ishii going after him at every turn really sold the feud and the finishing stretch delivered. ****

Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi
I recently reviewed King of Pro Wrestling 2013, from about three months later, and it also featured this battle of former partners. Tetsuya Naito’s hair looks pretty ridiculous here. Yujiro Takahashi came out with some hot nurses and cut a promo before the bell. Naito is coming off a knee injury here, which was furthered after a Yujiro attack. Yujiro goes after it here, which was smart. He tries to use a chair but the referee stops him. Takahashi starts picking up near falls on a belly to belly suplex, an Olympic slam and a German. Naito is playing the resilient babyface well. Naito also survives the figure four before going into his comeback stretch. His stuff isn’t looking as crisp as it usually does, though that may have to do with the injury and ring rust. He does pick up the victory with the Stardust Press, gaining momentum before his eventual G1 win.

Winner: Tetsuya Naito in 15:01
It seems like this was technically a fine match, but something just never clicked. Maybe it’s because I dislike Yujiro Takahashi so much and that coupled with a Naito that wasn’t on his game just messed things up. It’s like, they did stuff, but nothing about it spoke to me. **¾

Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori ShibataThese two have a long history of friendship and as partners. They had a match a few months earlier that ended in a double knockout. Right at the bell, Hirooki Goto charges and lays out Katsuyori Shibata with a big lariat, setting the tone. Shibata turns the tide with some of his vicious kicks. He applies a figure four that sees Goto sit up and just lay into him with slaps. Shibata seems to urge him to hit harder. Shibata continues with hard strikes until Goto lifts him for a stalling back suplex. This leads to both guys hitting those on each other, getting up nearly instantly. Goto stops that with a lariat to the back of the head but before falling, Shibata gets in a Pele like kick. When both men get up, it’s an exchange of strikes. The final blows being stereo slaps that send both men to the mat. The fans applaud the fact that they can just stand up. Shibata hits a kick and headbutt that both sound incredible painful. The headbutt brings a double KO tease that the crowd comes alive for. Goto scores a near fall on a signature move that the fans bite on. Shibata now brings the big offense with a Death Valley Driver and then uses Goto’s own neckbreaker on him. The sleeper and Penalty Kick put Goto down for the count.

Winner: Katsuyori Shibata in 13:16
This is pretty much the Shibata special. Give this man 12-15 minutes and you’re almost guaranteed a tremendous hard hitting match. These guys know each other well enough for things to move along smoothly. The fact that both men were able to walk out after is amazing considering the sheer brutality of this match. There’s something about Shibata matches that just feel more real than anything else in wrestling. Seek this match out. ****½

Hiroshi Tanahashi w/ Captain New Japan vs. Prince Devitt w/ Bad Luck Fale, Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga
Prince Devitt has the gimmicked light up jacket that he’s known for. Hiroshi Tanahashi gets in his head immediately with some light up shades. Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga try to get involved almost instantly but Tanahashi knocks them off the apron. The Bullet Club regroups outside where they decide to go with distraction instead of interference. Devitt still can’t get the upper hand so Fale pulls him outside. Devitt goads Tanahashi into a chase outside, which obviously leads to a big clothesline from Fale. In control now, Devitt hits a dropkick outside to a seated Tanahashi. Back inside, Devitt continues to be in the driver’s seat, wearing down Tanahashi. Tanahashi deals with some more BC interference before getting in some of his own stuff, including a somersault senton for two. He nails High Fly Flow onto both Devitt and Fale, but he takes so long that it just comes off as dumb to see the heels stand there and wait. Inside, they trade strikes and moves, with neither man getting the advantage. Devitt hits a sick sounding diving double stomp but Tanahashi kicks out. Bloody Sunday also gets him a near fall before he misses another double stomp. It hurts more since Tanahashi did some dragon screws earlier. Tanahashi goes into a flurry, but has High Fly Flow prevented by Fale. Devitt hits a second Bloody Sunday and gets the biggest win of his career to this point.

Winner: Prince Devitt in 15:33
Yea, there was a lot of interference, but there kind of had to be. Prince Devitt wasn’t going to beat Hiroshi Tanahashi cleanly, and with this still being the early stages of the Bullet Club, it helped to have them get involved in a match that had such a big outcome. The action in the ring was great and smartly worked in front of a hot crowd. ***¾

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) w/ Gedo vs. Togi Makabe
Stan Hansen is at ringside for this, sitting with the IWGP Title. He’s in the ring beforehand and Kazuchika Okada kind of just brushes past him like a total dick. They start with a feeling out process where Togi Makabe seems to be one step ahead of the champion. Okada does get an opening for the Rainmaker, but Makabe avoids it. Makabe beats on him outside for a bit, teaching the youngster a bit of a lesson. The fans are completely behind Makabe and are still just as hot as they were hours ago. Okada hit the Randy Orton hung DDT, but on the outside off the guardrail. Okada took control for a bit, but when Makabe started to turn the tide, he found a way to hit his signature elbow. He can’t hit the Rainmaker again though and Makabe hits three big lariats to take him down. Makabe misses the King Kong Knee Drop but ends up in the Red Ink, though he escapes. The fight ends up outside, where Makabe has decided to stop giving a fuck and powerbombs Okada through a table. Inside, he hits a second but the champion survives. He hits the Spider German but again misses the knee drop. He’s able to counter the Rainmaker again and scores on a dragon suplex. The near fall that he gets absolutely brings the crowd to their feet. Okada sucks a clothesline and finally hits the Tombstone, which had been well scouted like the Rainmaker throughout the match. The Rainmaker follows to end this.

Winner and Still IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Kazuchika Okada in 25:24
I’ve seen these two wrestle one on one twice and both times it exceeded my expectations. They seem to work very well together. I appreciated that Makabe went with some actual wrestling early on, before going to his strong suit of brawling as the match progressed. They did a good job in making you believe Makabe would win even though you really knew he wouldn’t. Great capper. ****

After the match, Prince Devitt comes out on Bad Luck Fale’s shoulders and issues a challenge to Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Title. Okada would only accept if Devitt gives Gedo a Jr. Heavyweight Title shot and beats him. Also, if Gedo wins, he would get the shot. Devitt accepts the terms.

Overall: 8.5/10; Excellent. A strong recommendation here. There are three matches that I have at four or more stars (IWGP Title, Nakamura tag and Goto/Shibata), while there are two others that clock in at over 3.5 stars. That is enough to be a great show but you add in a fun three way tag and two other matches that aren’t bad and you’ve got yourself one of the better shows I’ve reviewed. Check out most of this as it’s an easy watch featuring some great matches and fantastic performances from top talent.

Random Network Reviews: Saturday Night's Main Event 11/2/85

Saturday Night’s Main Event
November 2nd, 1985 | Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania

This show took place on October 31st, 1985 but was recorded and aired a few days later. It is the third Saturday Night’s Main Event in history.

It looks like the show as a Halloween theme as Bobby Heenan and Mean Gene are in costume. Gene is some sort of pumpkin while Heenan is Davey Crockett. We get multiple promos from Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Andre the Giant, Jimmy Hart and Terry Funk before the intro video. I won’t lie, this intro video is awesome.

Junkyard Dog vs. Terry Funk w/ Jimmy Hart
Before the actual match, Mean Gene interviews both participants and we see some build up for the feud. JYD starts with a quick attack on Funk that Jesse Ventura instantly calls a cheap shot. I mean, it was, but Funk kind of had it coming. Funk misses an elbow so JYD hits some body slams. Funk is so disoriented that he nearly attacks Hart. JYD nails his trademark headbutts, which Funk oversells hilariously. Funk finally turns things around with a sleeper hold. The crowd is pretty vocal throughout this whole thing. JYD switches around but breaks it to go after Hart. Funk strikes him with the megaphone to steal it.

Winner: Terry Funk in 5:16
Really basic stuff here. Neither guys does anything of note, but the crowd was really hot, which helped the score. *¼

After the match, Terry Funk tries to brand Junkyard Dog, but he stops him. He then removes Jimmy Hart’s pants and brands his booty.

Mean Gene leads us in a pie eating contest of sorts. A ton of people are dressed up, but the Iron Sheik as Batman may be the greatest thing in history. Captain Lou Albano takes on King Kong Bundy in a pie eating contest. Lou wins so Bundy hits him in the face with a pie, which just makes him way more.

Hillbilly Jim, Uncle Elmer and Cousin Junior are out to confront Roddy Piper about the way he interrupted Elmer’s wedding on the last Saturday Night’s Main Event. Piper is out with Bob Orton. Piper throws Jesse Ventura under the bus for the stuff he said, which leads to Ventura coming in. This leads to a standoff, where Hillbilly Jim and Uncle Elmer get Ventura stuck in the corner, but he is saved.

Mean Gene now leads us to a pumpkin dunk contest. Elizabeth dressed as the Mary Jane to Macho Man’s Tarzan is the highlight of the night. Bobby Heenan defeats Cousin Junior in the contest.

WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant w/ Captain Lou Albano vs. Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan
How does anyone believe the heels have a chance? In a preview of WrestleMania 2, Hulk Hogan starts with Bundy. They do the whole “CAN HE SLAM HIM? NO HE CAN’T” spot which will probably end with the slam. Andre the Giant gets tagged and Vince McMahon calls him the Big Boss Man on commentary. Now we know where he got Ray Traylor’s name. Hogan and Andre continue to trade working over both of their opponents. The crowd is MOLTEN hot. The referee gets knocked out, but a second one appears to take over. Andre gets caught in the ropes like always, allowing the heels to turn things around. They beat on Andre, leading to the DQ.

Winners via disqualification: Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan 8:00
A fun tag tea match all things considered. The crowd was even hotter here than for the opener and seeing Andre and Hulk dominate together was kind of fun. **¼

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Tito Santana (c) vs. Randy Savage w/ Miss Elizabeth
Prior to the match, Macho Man is interviewed and while it is short, it’s great. Jesse Ventura instantly goes into calling the champion “Chico Santana”. Savage is in control early on, showing off his quickness and ability. Savage continues to hold serve, wearing down the champion. He goes for a double axe handle but Santana catches him in the midsection and starts to fire up. Savage runs outside to avoid a move, so Santana follows out. It leads to both men being counted out.

Double Countout in 4:08
I feel like there is a pretty good match to be had between these two but they weren’t given enough time here. The double countout finish protected both men but this never really got going.**

Footage airs of how Roddy Piper spends his Halloween. Vince McMahon asks how he spends Halloween in his native Scotland, leading to Piper going on a short rant about Native Americans. The 80’s were a different time. He also tricks kids instead of giving them treats. The kids end up tricking him, leaving him with chocolate covered red peppers. It’s all incredibly over the top, but kind of fun.

Kung Fu Challenge
Mr. Fuji w/ Magnificent Muraco vs. Ricky Steamboat
I’m honestly not entirely sure what makes this a Kung Fu Challenge. Jesse Ventura says he’s not sure if Ricky is impressive because he doesn’t know the ins and outs of karate. Fuji uses what is seemingly karate to get in some offense but Steamboat nails a suplex. THAT ISN’T KARATE! He goes up top and nails a missile dropkick to win.

Winner: Ricky Steamboat in 3:16
Hard to really rate that due to Mr. Fuji not being a full time wrestler. At least it was short and the right guy went over. *

After the match, Muraco sprays something in Ricky Steamboat’s eyes. It looks like blood. They then beat down on him before leaving.

Backstage, Mean Gene interviews Elizabeth dressed as Mary Jane and they practice the pumpkin pass. He gets way too close to here. Macho Man is probably pissed. The faces win the pumpkin pass, because Elizabeth messes up. It’s probably hard to do that when the cameraman is basically up your ass.

Overall: 5/10; Mediocre. These are relatively hard shows to rate, especially in this era. I tend to not focus 100% on the match quality and more if the show is enjoyable. This one was relatively fun. The Halloween stuff didn’t overstay its welcome and was usually fun. The big tag match and Intercontinental Title match were both decent, while the bookend matches struggled. I’d rank this in the middle of the pack. Next on “Random Network Reviews” will be WrestleMania XXVII!

Top Ten Thursday: WrestleMania Weekend Matches

WrestleMania weekend is always among the biggest and best time to be a wrestling fan. This year, there was certainly a lot to take in. Unfortunately, I couldn't see it all. I didn't get to see the ROH shows, Evolve 59, the CZW even or Evolve 59. Still, I took in a lot of wrestling and enough of it was really good. So much so, that I can compile a top ten list from what I witnessed. Mind you, the matches listed will only be from Evolve 58, TakeOver: Dallas, WWN's Mercury Rising super show, WrestleMania and Raw the night after Mania.

10. NXT Championship: Finn Balor (c) vs. Samoa Joe – NXT TakeOver: Dallas

 There were a few matches I was thinking about putting here. I gave out three ***¾ ratings during WrestleMania weekend. One was for Bayley vs. Asuka and one was for Matt Riddle vs. Tracy Williams at Mercury Rising. I chose Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe from TakeOver: Dallas over them for a few reasons. Balor and Joe’s first match at TakeOver: London in December came off as a disappointment to me. I needed them to best it here and they did. This felt like a fight between two guys that flat out didn’t like each other, which is exactly what I wanted. Joe got busted open the hard way early on and it was bad. The referees had to continually stop the match to patch him up. That was the one thing that kept this match from four star territory. I understand why it happened but that doesn’t mean that it was good for the quality of the match. Outside of that, both men just went to war in one hard hitting battle. Finn fired up near the end, showing something different in his demon persona, before retaining the title with a counter to the Coquina Clutch. I think it was Joe’s time to win it but this was still a really good match between two really good performers. ***¾

9. WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match – WrestleMania 32 

It looks like we’re going to get a yearly clusterfuck multi-man ladder match. Despite the buildups this year and last year, the matches have turned out to be pretty damn good. I felt that this year’s, even with less big names, managed to be slightly better. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, the Miz, Zack Ryder, Stardust and Sin Cara opened up the main card of WrestleMania with a bang. This was exactly what it needed to be. A fun filled spotfest. However, it was a very smooth spotfest. They set up their spots in clever ways and made sure that the action never stopped in the ring. Some of things done (Zayn’s dive through the ladder and Sin Cara splashing Stardust through one specifically) were jaw dropping. I liked the fact that, while everyone was given a chance to shine, emphasis was put on the Owens/Zayn rivalry since it was the only real angle entering the match. While I disagreed with Ryder winning, it was a true feel good moment in a Mania lacking them. It also was a fun surprise that almost nobody say coming. ****

8. Ricochet vs. TJ Perkins – Evolve 58

WrestleMania weekend got kicked off by Evolve 58, which aired rather early on Friday, April 1^st. I didn’t catch it live but saw it over the weekend on demand. Two matches stood out, but the first I’m going to discuss featured Ricochet and TJ Perkins. Ricochet wrestles as Prince Puma in Lucha Underground, while Perkins used to wrestle as Puma, which they played into early on in a cool little comedy moment. Ricochet was out to have fun and did so early on, but that bugged Perkins. Knowing that Ricochet is one of the most athletic high flyers in the world, Perkins targeted his legs. It’s such a great strategy that I love to see in matches involving a high flyer. It was well done stuff that played into Perkins being a damn good mat worker. Ricochet did well in selling it for the most part, as even when he hit a big move using the leg, he’d clutch it in pain. Most importantly, it played a role in the finish. Ricochet’s leg buckled on him, allowing Perkins to apply a heel hook and force Ricochet to submit. It continued Perkins’ momentum and set the stage for him to sign with Stokely Hathaway before announcing his intention to compete in WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series. ****

7. WWE Women’s Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks – WrestleMania 32

 Yea, this is the highest rated match from WrestleMania itself. Going into WrestleMania, I felt that the three women involved in this match were more than capable of stealing the show and they proved me right. Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks are immensely talented ladies with some really good chemistry from their time in NXT. For the first time since Mickie James wrestled Trish Stratus ten years earlier, we got a women’s match that actually felt like it belonged on WrestleMania. This wasn’t women being given a Mania spot to promote Playboy or some thrown together match to get everyone on the card. This was three talented women with a history and a desire to be the best. Sasha Banks and Charlotte got the big time entrances (especially Sasha) and Becky got her eye messed up within minutes. That didn’t stop her as she was damn good throughout this. There were one or two flubs, but they managed to cover them up well and my only major issue with the match was the finish. Charlotte retained after interference from Ric Flair, which has been done to death. If ever there was a time for someone to win the belt and usher in the new era of women’s wrestling, this was it and they fumbled that. ****

6. NXT Tag Team Championship: The Revival (c) vs. American Alpha – TakeOver: Dallas 

When NXT first started producing live specials, one thing stuck out as a glaring weakness. The tag team division. Matches involved a way past their prime Too Cool, the pairing of Kalisto and El Local and even some early Blake and Murphy stuff were all rough. Over time, NXT has really built up a really good tag team division and the two teams that stand out above the rest right now are the Revival and American Alpha. The Revival entered this night as champions and their “no flips, just fists” mantra rang true. They work so well as an old school team in the vein of the Andersons. American Alpha is like the World’s Greatest Tag Team, only better and with more charisma. NXT slipped up in never giving Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady the belts, but on this night, they made the right call with the most team on the brand. These four men wrestled a classic, old school style tag team match with a hint of some new age flair. It was the best tag team match in NXT history and was capped with a great moment as we saw Chad Gable and Jason Jordan celebrate in tears. ****

5. Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Mercury Rising 

The WWN super show of WrestleMania weekend was called Mercury Rising. It featured competitors from Evolve, FIP and Shine. The show started with a bang as Zack Sabre Jr. showed up to instantly call out his opponent for the evening, Chris Hero. Sabre was completing his “Best in the World” series, which he entered 3-1 in. Hero had knocked out Sabre on several occasions, so a win over Hero would be huge for the Brit. He came in with a game plan and fought harder than ever. He battled Hero with strikes, despite being at a big size disadvantage. Sabre did his best and fired up a few times after taking big shots. He took Hero to the mat, but Hero was ready with his own mat work. It was a more even match than their past battles, but Hero still seemed to have a slight upper hand. Try as he may and try as he might, Sabre just couldn’t quite crack the code that is Chris Hero. Hero was able to knock him out again with a barrage of elbows, walking out and calling himself the “greatest of all time”. The match went a bit long to be a true classic, but it was still pretty great. ****¼

4. Johnny Gargano, Kota Ibushi and TJP vs. Marty Scurll, Tommy End and Will Ospreay – Mercury Rising 

Sticking with the Mercury Rising super show, it was headlined by a huge six man tag main event. Johnny Gargano, considered the icon of WWN, TJP, who came in on a hot streak and Kota Ibushi is the hottest Japanese free agent in the world. Marty Scurll, Tommy End and Will Ospreay have been making waves for a long time now. Ospreay has especially been incredible. This match was pretty much just pure joy. They went for twenty plus minutes at a frantic pace and everyone got to shine. The interactions between Ospreay and Ibushi were easily the best part and the crowd reacted as so. Both men even did simultaneous dives off of a stage in the arena at one point. This was the definition of a nonstop thrill ride. If you’re a fan of anyone in here, you’ll love it because they all did their thing. Ibushi won with a sweet powerbomb to cap off a chaotic main event. It was a fitting end to a super show and after the bell, Gargano put everyone over, including the wrestling business itself in a promo. Absolutely fun. ****¼

3. Number One Contender’s Match: AJ Styles vs. Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens – Raw 4/4/16

One night after making the awful decision of having AJ Styles lose to Chris Jericho at WrestleMania, the WWE looked to right the ship. Roman Reigns, who got booed heavily as he won the WWE Title, came out and actually acted like a condescending prick (which he seemed way more comfortable playing). His confident open challenge led to Chris Jericho answering. AJ Styles, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn followed, leading to a brawl. Shane McMahon made a main event between the four but Owens took out Zayn. His replacement was the returning Cesaro and man, it was great to have him back. Dude is almost a guarantee to give you a good to great match on a weekly basis. These were four of the best in the world just going out and having a great match for a title shot. Cesaro showed no ring rust, Owens was magnificent at selling the prior night’s ladder match, Jericho was continuing to excel in his new heel turn and Styles was the all-around great that he is. I expected Jericho to win considering he had momentum after Mania, but when Styles got the 1-2-3, I marked out. Like a child that just watched wrestling for pure entertainment and didn’t think about who was getting pushed or not. I just saw my favorite wrestler earn a WWE Title shot in less than four months. It was glorious. So was the match itself actually. ****¼

2. Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Evolve 58 

When I first saw Will Ospreay, he didn’t wow me. He came off as just another guy who could flips. However, I’m so glad I give people more than one chance. Ever since then, this dude has impressed me more and more each time out. He’s not just one of those guys that can do flips. Almost every aspect of his game is already finely tuned and he’s only 22. Zack Sabre Jr. is another prodigy, who is incredible at a young age. This was also part of Sabre’s “Best in the World” challenge, as he was facing off against the “flyer”. Everything these two men did was damn near perfect. When Sabre had control on the mat, it was great. When Ospreay took to the air, my jaw dropped. There were just so many moments throughout this that delivered. Sabre was so confident in his ability, sometimes to a fault, which allowed Ospreay to turn it around. The finishing stretch was my favorite all weekend long as Ospreay kicked out of a Liger bomb at one, only for Sabre to keep hold and apply a ridiculous looking submission to get the win. Not only was this a classic match, but it could be huge in getting people to want to check out British wrestling (PROGRESs and RPW have been really good from what I’ve been able to see). Definitely a MOTYC. ****½

1. Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – TakeOver: Dallas 

The third match from TakeOver: Dallas to make the list. The hype for this match, Shinsuke Nakamura’s debut, was off the charts. There was no way they could live up to it. And they didn’t. They exceeded it. Kudos to CFO$ and the WWE for finding a way to keep Nakamura’s aura intact without his infamous “Subconscious” theme song from Japan. As they’ve mostly done with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, the WWE allowed Nakamura to be Nakamura. This was very much a Nakamura match, as it followed a similar formula to his biggest NJPW bouts. I’m not saying that as a bad thing at all. It works and it was great for a WWE audience that may not be used to it. Sami Zayn was excellent here, adapting to Nakamura’s style. He did a lot of his key stuff and made sure to sell for Nakamura in the best way. The match itself may only be even or slightly above Sabre/Ospreay from a pure in-ring perspective, but the atmosphere changed things here. The crowd was molten for everything done by both men, but especially Nakamura. From their reaction to his entrance to Nakamura’s mannerisms to the false finishes and finally to the closing stretch, everything felt special. Nakamura won with his patented, but renamed Boma Ye, capping off the best in-ring debut I can recall. *****

Lucha Underground 4/13/16 Review

The episode starts with highlights of the Gifts of the Gods Championship, which Fenix won and used to become Lucha Underground Champion. He lost the belt a week later to Matanza Cueto in Aztec Warfare II. Then they show Dario Cueto announce the Trios Tournament, which Rey Mysterio, Dragon Azteca Jr. and Prince Puma will take part in. Azteca and Rey still believe that Matanza killed Dragon Azteca Sr.

Dario Cueto is in his office with Cage, Johnny Mundo and Taya. Cage & Taya have been warring with Cage. Mundo figures out that Dario wants them to be an unlikely trio. Cage wants Mundo one on one but Dario declines. He brings them together with the thought they both Cage and Mundo want gold. Dario hilariously finishes Cage's "I'm not a man, I'm a machine" line with a "yea, we get it" attitude.

Killshot def. Argenis in 4:34
Killshot seemed to be a different animal. He had a slightly different look and seemed to pray or something to his dog tags, playing off of the vignette we recently saw. Killshot proved to be more aggressive. Vampiro said he seemed more "military". That was super on the nose. Argenis got in some stuff but you knew what he was here for. Killshot caught him with a corkscrew brainbuster. He won with his own version of the One Winged Angel. Really good showcase for KIllshot. He's insanely underrated. My main gripe was on commentary, as Vamp and Striker tried too hard to get the military thing across. **3/4

Dragon Azteca Jr. sees Black Lotus in the back and wants to get his hands on Matanza. Lotus stop shim, saying Matanza is too pwoerful right now but she's staying close to Dario, which is apparently the plan. I wonder if she's a double agent. In Dario's office, he speaks to Daga, who is one of the hottest stars in Mexico right now. Dario has the Aztec medallions on his desk, which Daga calls coins. That doesn't make Dario happy. He wants to see if the hype behind Daga is real so he has to wrestle Texano tonight for a medallion.

Gift of the Gods Aztec Medallion Match: Texano def. Daga in 7:03
According to Vampiro, Daga is a luchador that utilizes a Japanese style in the ring. Also, for those unaware, there are seven medallions that need to be won. Once the seven are won, there's a seven way match and the winner gets the Gift of the Gods Title, earning a shot at the Lucha Underground Title. They worked at a quick pace with some very stiff shots. Things even got a bit more violent on the outside of the ring. Daga came very close on a few occasions and was the more impressive guy throughout the match. Unfortunately, he fell victim to a powerbomb, losing his debut. Keep Daga around because he was the star of this thing. ***

Returning from break, Mil Muertes is in his lair or whatever it is. Catrina comes in to say that her Disciples got entry into the Trios Tournament and they want Mil's forgiveness. Catrina brings them to life and Mil tells them to rise. She makes them leave and says they won't fail. Catrina also tells Mil that he'll be champion again next week, but warns him that Matanza may be more devastating than the earthquake that made him.

Trios Tournament First Round: Dragon Azteca Jr., Prince Puma and Rey Mysterio def. Cage, Johnny Mundo and Taya in 12:51
Rapper Wale was shown in the crowd, which was cool. Azteca has dragon themed entrance gear similar to Puma's. The pace that this match went at was absurd. All six competitors brought their "A" game and put on one hell of a show. The uneasy team worked that angle of not being a cohesive unit, while the babyface team was just a blast. Mysterio's tag got a massive pop. He's basically a god to the believers. I liked how Rey opened up so Azteca and Puma could do dives outside. Like he knows that's not hsi strong suit and is allowing the younger guys to get their shine. Mundo got in Cage's way near the end, causing Mundo to get crotched up top. He took a top rope rana and 630 from Puma but somehow managed to kick out. Shortley after, Mundo mistakenly hit Cage, so Cage leveled him with a clothesline. A 619 and 630 later (Mysterio and Azteca went nuts in the middle of that as well) and we had our winners. This was one of the most fun matches you'll see all year. They told the story of the uneasy partners as well as Azteca proving himself alongside his two established partners, while filling it up with spots after spot in an incredible display. ****

Before the show ends, Dario Cueto talks to Matanza, who is locked up. Dario says that he's in there because he's valuable and people lock away their valuables to protect them. Dario caressed his brother's face out of love while making sure to keep his focus on killing Mil Muertes next week.

Overall: 7.5/10. Another really fun episode of Lucha Underground. They just churn out good television week in and week out. The angles they advanced all worked. The three matches were all worth a look, capping off with a very strong main event. There were some issues with a few things (Daga losing mainly) but it was a damn good show.

If you do want to check out Lucha Underground, which you absolutely should, and don't get El Rey Network (like me), you can sign up for the streaming service Fubo.TV. It's a great way to support the company and channel while streaming the show online. You can sign up and get Lucha Underground right here with Fubo.tv!

Raw Review 4/11/16

I apologize for this being a bit late and for the Raw reviews being inconsistent this year. I've been a bit busy. Anyway, Raw opened with Shane McMahon coming out. Due to social media support, he was running Raw again. Look at that Shane. You nearly killed yourself at WrestleMania but all you needed to take control were some tweets. He announced that Sami Zayn would face AJ Styles and if Zayn won, he'd make the upcoming WWE Title match a Triple Threat. Kevin Owens showed up, angry about it and demanded his Intercontinental Title rematch. Shane made him earn it due to his actions against Zayn last week. So our opening match saw Cesaro face Owens. Man, this was really good. Also, they added a 007 like mini-tron for Cesaro, which is awesome. As always, Cesaro does great in TV matches. This was better than their SummerSlam match. Cesaro won after about fifteen minutes and will now face Miz for the Intercontinental Title at Payback. Great way to start the show.

Dr. Phil, the guest, spoke to Charlotte adn Ric Flair in the back. He told Charlotte that she doesn't need to cheat to win. Ric got in his face but actually got out "Wooed". It was surprisingly funny. Another thing that Shane McMahon announced was a tag team tournament to determine new contenders for New Day. They came out and hyped the tournament by cutting a fun little promo. That led into the Dudleys vs. Lucha Dragons. The Dudleys won and it seemed like Kalisto got hurt. Hopefully it isn't too serious. After the match, Enzo Amore and Big Cass came to the stage. The Dudleys said Enzo and Cass only exist because of teams like the Dudleys. Enzo said he exists because his mother and father got it on. Howyoudoing? Great stuff. Their charisma is off the charts. Next up, Roman Reigns came out to talk about Zayn/Styles. He was interrupted by the League of Nations. Not this shit again. Only Rusev was good throughout this segments. The Wyatts showed up and helped Reigns clean house. Shane came out and liked Bray and Roman working together, so the main event would be Bray and Roman against the League of Nations. None of that sounded interesting in the slightest.

            Moving on, we got a WWE Women's Championship match between Charlotte and Natalya. I hope this is the end of the program and it doesn't go until the PPV. They worked a good match that was marred by Ric Flair interference. That got Charlotte DQed so she could keep the belt. Been there, done that. The tag tournament continued as the Usos defeated the Social Outcasts. Their celebration was short lived though as Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows arrived! They destroyed the Usos, sending them into the ring steps and even hitting Magic Killer, which Michael Cole somehow called correctly. Color me surprised. This was a well done debut.

There was a fun backstage segment involving the Miz, Maryse and Cesaro. Miz and Maryse nail their characters. Now it was time for the show to be stolen. AJ Styles met Sami Zayn with the stakes being very high. You could kind of tell that Styles was happy to see his buddies debut. This was even better than the opener. Two of the best in the world competing in a personal dream match of mine. Sami worked the underdog as always and it was great. Styles won with the Phenomenal Forearm. After the match, both men shook hands and even Shane praised them in the back. Good TV. Moving along, Chris Jericho held a Highlight Reel with himself as the guest. Only someone like Jericho could pull this off as well as he did. Dean Ambrose interrupted and took over, renaming the show the Ambrose Asylum. He was funny here for the most part and Jericho played his role well. This worked pretty well but had some hiccups. Jericho/Ambrose should be good when it goes down. Next up, we got our second Raw look at Apollo Crews. He wrestled Adam Rose. Unfortunately, just like in NXT, Crews is lacking a character. The fans popped for some of his moves but were pretty dead throughout.

In the main event, we got the odd pairing of Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt joining forces. I still don't fully understand why. They met Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus. This was your standard tag match. They surprisingly worked the hot tag to Bray, who did well with it. The rest of the Wyatts showed up before Bray pinned Del Rio with Sister Abigail. Bray and Roman had a staredown at the end but it seems like we've moved into tweener Bray territory. Overall, I found this to be a much better show than last week's post-Mania episode. We got two great matches, more from Enzo and Cass, the start of a cool tournament, the debut of Gallows and Anderson and more. Worth checking out. 8/10.

Fave Five 4/4/16-4/10/16

1) Tetsuya Naito: For six of the seven days this week, I had my heart set on giving the top spot to AJ Styles. Then Invasion Attack went down and Tetsuya Naito finally captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This was glorious. Naito was given a major push a few years back as a white meat babyface and it did not go over well. Fast forward and his heel persona has been excellent, to the point where he became the first man not named Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi or AJ Styles to hold the title in years. Naito ended Okada's nine month stranglehold on the strap. It was a great match, made even better by the atmosphere and moment of Naito finally winning it all. His post-match stuff was even better, tossing the belt around like he doesn't care. Naito is amazing.

2) AJ Styles: I never thought I'd see the day, but AJ Styles is the number one contender for the WWE Title. Following a completely stupid loss to Chris Jericho at WrestleMania, Styles, along with Jericho, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn answered the challenge of Roman Reigns. They were thrust into a Fatal Four Way main event (where Cesaro replaced an injured Zayn). The match turned out to be great and Styles pinned Jericho to earn the spot. He was the focus of Michael Cole's weekly sit down interview and opened Smackdown face to face with Reigns. Styles then competed in another really good match on Smackdown, winning alongside Cesaro against Owens and Jericho. All in all, a huge week for the phenomenal one.

3) KUSHIDA: The best match of a loaded week had to be KUSHIDA defending the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship against the debuting Will Ospreay in New Japan. There haven't been many debuts as good as this. Ospreay and KUSHIDA went full tilt for a nearly perfect fifteen minutes of wrestling. A lot of people are talking about how great Ospreay was, and that's warranted, but let's not forget about KUSHIDA. He actually won the match and once again proved that he is not only the best Jr. Heavyweight in NJPW, but one of the best in the world period. He's now also set up for a title defense against Jushin Thunder Liger, who has the record for most reigns with 11.

4) Katsuyori Shibata: Since Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th, Katsuyori Shibata has held the NEVER Title. His most recent focus has basically been the "Fuck The Old Guys Tour". Shibata has had issues with the older generation of NJPW guys, like Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. After beating Kojima a few weeks ago, he faced Tenzan at Invasion Attack. The match proved to be better than I expected and Shibata retained. After the bell, Nagata entered the ring to check on his friend, only for Shibata to kick him in the face. So not only did Shibata keep his title, but he set up another upcoming match. If their match during the G1 Climax two years ago is any indication, this should be all kinds of awesome.

5) The Miz: Just 24 hours after Zack Ryder's feel good WrestleMania Intercontinental Title win, the Miz challenged him for the gold. After some back and forth, Miz got in Ryder's dad's face at ringside. This led to the return of Miz's real life wife, Maryse. She got in Ryder's dad's face and helped Miz win the title for a fifth time. Then on Smackdown, Maryse gave Miz a fancy introduction as he successfully defended the title against Ryder in a better match. Miz finished the week 2-0, won a championship and got his gorgeous wife on his arm for the foreseeable future. It's a good time to be him.